Empowered by technology, online shopping is recording a rise in sales every year. The primary reason being, it offers consumers greater values, choices, and convenience. Now, shopping is more than just visiting local shops during business hours. Consumers have the convenience of shopping anytime from anywhere. They have easy access to a global online marketplace that allows them to purchase from retailers and manufacturers present anywhere in the world or even from those who do not have physical retail locations.
Consumers are not just looking for products but also better experiences and greater convenience. This forces the retailers to work on their strategy, both online and in stores. Online consumers are difficult to attract as they do not just have a lot of options to choose from, but also they are looking for better services. Developing an online shopping experience enabled by technology such as the virtual and augmented reality of 3D modelling is as necessary as offering consumers a favourable and customised browsing experience, ordering, payment, and delivery options.
According to a survey when consumers were asked about the reasons they shop online instead of buying locally, the top reasons were cost savings and time flexibility. These are the overall reasons why consumers want to shop online:
Convenience has reshaped how consumers search and buy products as their new choice is to shop online.
Inconvenience Leads to Cart Abandonment
The quality of the products and lower costs are the top reasons why consumers prefer shopping online. The convenience of options is not as important as the top two reasons. That being said, 97% of them mentioned that they had not gone ahead with the purchase as it was inconvenient to them.
- Convenience Is a Necessity
Lives are busier, more hectic, and faster for people today. Between work, school, family, extracurricular activities, the consumer is occupied most of the time. They are always looking for avenues that help them save them time and efforts, and also get the job done. 83% of the consumers said compared to the last five years, now convenience while shopping is more important.
- Convenience Influences Purchases
While the cost and quality of the products are top reasons for online shopping, almost half of the surveyed consumers stated that half or more of their purchases are influenced by convenience. Consumers are busy, and they do not have extra time to purchase products.
Convenience happens to differ for various categories. In certain industries such as groceries and personal care, ecommerce retailers have to ensure their services offer high levels of comfort. With the Ecommerce CRO process, businesses can enhance their overall shop to boost conversions. The CRO process helps you to understand how users navigate your ecommerce shop, how they interact with the website, and what hinders them from completing the goals.
Consumers will continue shopping online as their experiences are getting richer with personalised experiences. When retailers create positive and unique experiences, they can help build customer loyalty. Ecommerce growth depends on how well they serve consumers online.